I like nonsense, it wakes up the
brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of
looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I
do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.

Thanks to Carolyn Bott (lovely singing and guitar playing), her
husband Don (piano accompaniment and amplification equipment),
David Tex Houston (piano, guitar, and humor set to song), and Patricia
Draves (original thank you song) for their generous contributions
of talent to our 15th Anniversary Dinner on May 13!

Macrobiotic Counselor David Briscoe teaches an online course,
Taking Care Of Your Kidneys. The course consists of six online
sessions (one hour) on Tue & Thu at 6 PM Pacific Time beginning June
4, and online access to course materials, readings and related internet
links. An audit option is available; audit students may access the transcripts
and course materials at any time during the 3 weeks. Cost is $150 by
May 25, $175 after. For info, call 877 622-2637, or see http://www.macroamerica.com

Monthly Vegan Potlucks! A host is needed for a fun potluck
in June; call Harold Stephenson, 650 856-1125. On July 21 at 6:30 PM,
Doris Seltzer hosts in Palo Alto, call Harold to RSVP and for directions.

Straight talking Howard Lyman, former Montana cattle rancher
turned vegan, lectures on Conscious Living--a great introduction
to vegetarianism for family and friends who need encouragement accepting
a meatless diet. Sat, June 1, 7:00 PM, at the IOE (Goldman) Institute,
3600 Geary Blvd @ Palm, SF, sponsored by the San Francisco Vegetarian
Society. $5 suggested donation. A silent auction and any other support
will help Howard with his fea­ture length documentary film, Mad Cowboy.

A research team with the University of South Carolina is studying macrobiotics
and disease. Funded by the Centers for Disease Control, their study is
called "Complementary and Alternative Medicine with Curative Intent:
Macrobiotics." They use qualitative medical anthropological methods
to evaluate the effects of macrobiotics on health, healing and cancer
prevention. Their fascinating study is online at http://www.macrobiotics.sph.sc.edu.

Cooking Classes, Dinners

Micael Gonzalez, with 20 years of macrobiotic experience and training
from the Kushi Institute, is looking for a full-time position preparing
healthy, natural foods in the peninsula area, call 650 248-7313 or 650
856-7597.

James Holloway, frequent Guest Chef at the Monday Dinners,
does personal home cooking in Palo Alto, in macrobiotic and classical
styles, call 650 852-9182.

Speakers receive a gratuity collected from the audience; please show
your support and appreciation with a donation ($5 suggested).

On June 10, Dr. Warren Grossman speaks on To Be Healed
By The Earth. During a vacation to Brazil in 1987, away from his practice
of psychotherapy in Cleveland, Dr. Grossman contracted a parasite and
became deathly ill. Doctors gave him only a week to live and sent him
home to die. “I can remember feeling my energy diminishing daily and
calmly thinking, ‘so this is dying.’ ”

But he did not die. Each day he went outside and lay on the ground;
gradually, his strength returned. But his way of seeing had changed.
“My values, beliefs and goals were different. I started having this experience
of seeing light coming from all living organisms.” When finally able
to return to his practice, the first patient he saw, a diagnosed agoraphobic,
glowed from every pore “like a stained glass window.” The next patient,
diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, also glowed. “His light was so beautiful,
so moving, that I began to cry….” Gradually, he found that he could do
more as a healer than a psychotherapist. In 1991, he founded the Institute
of Light, where he trains healers and those who wish to be healed to integrate
their lives with nature’s energy.

Dr. Grossman combines scientific psychology and energy healing to
potentiate the personal growth and physical well-being of his clients.
In his talk, he will demonstrate and help participants use the technique
of grounding to access the energy of the earth, in order to open the heart
chakra. An open heart chakra is the source of true healing.

On July 1, Dr. Mo-Mei Chen speaks on Edible And Medicinal
Mushrooms. Mushrooms are any of various fleshy fungi of the class
Basidiomycetes. While some mushrooms are poisonous, other varieties are
edible, ranging from the simple button mushroom to the elegant shiitake,
prized by gourmet chefs for the flavor it imparts to soups, broths, and
vegetable dishes.

Mushrooms are not just food; they are also incredibly fascinating in
other important ways. Mushrooms grow under unusual and specific conditions
which other plants find inhospitable. The shiitake mushroom, for instance,
grows on the decaying logs of oak trees. To survive and grow under such
harsh conditions, mushrooms have evolved unusual growth strategies, becoming
proficient at expelling undesirable chemicals and contaminants. It is
therefore not surprising that con­sumption of certain mushrooms and their
extracts has positive effects on health, which include supporting the
immune system, reducing fatigue, and promoting cardiovascular health.
In Oriental medicine, some mush­rooms have attained a treasured reputation
which dates back thousands of years.

In addition to their long and revered legacy, some varieties are
attracting tremendous research interest for health benefits that are highly
relevant today. These mushrooms include the familiar Shiitake (Lentinus
edodes), along with Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum, known as the "plant
of immortality"), Maitake (Grifola frondosa, known as "The King
of Mushrooms"), Cordyceps (Cordyceps saneness), and Coriolus (Coriolus
versicolor).

Their benefits include direct action against cancerous tumors; increases
in many parameters of immune function including macrophages, killer cells
and cytotoxic T cells; and increases in levels of interferon. All of
these are beneficial to cancer patients in directly combating tumors,
stimulating the body's innate ability to marshal cellular defenses, and
in dealing with side-effects of radiation and chemotherapy. (In Japan,
three different anti-cancer drugs extracted from mushrooms have been approved
by the government.) They are also beneficial to AIDS patients, who are
dealing with weakened immune systems.

Dr. Mo-Mei Chen, trained at Beijing Agricultural University, is
a Professor of Plant Pathology and Mycology at the Chinese Academy of
Forestry, China. She taught Forest Mycology and conducted research for
Tottri Mycological Institute, Japan, on Shiitake production. She is affiliated
with the Department of Plant Pathology, UC Berkeley, and the UC Forest
Product Laboratory and is a Research Associate at the University and Jepson
Herbaria. She has beeen teaching in Berkeley for 8 years and is a member
of the American Mushroom Institute.

Recipe

Dandelion-Shiitake Mushroom Sauté

A wonderful side dish for Spring or Summer, made rich by the tahini.
Leftovers make a great sandwich filling. Ingredients: